Country: Australia
Placed in Group C along with France, Peru and Denmark
Fixtures:
vs France June 16, at 3.30pm IST (Kazan)
Vs Denmark, June 21, at 5.30pm IST (Samara)
Vs Peru, June 26, at 7.30pm IST (Sochi)
FIFA ranking: 36
Previous World Cup: Group stage
Best World Cup finish: Round of 16, 2006
2014 finish: Group stage
Star players: Tim Cahill (Millwall FC), Mile Jedinak (Aston Villa), Aaron Mooy (Huddersfield Town)
Coach: Bert van Marwijk
The Asian champions qualified for their fifth World Cup after having travelled a whopping 250,000 kilometres across the world, facing 11 different opponents and finally making the cut by the narrowest of margins after playing two close play-off ties.
It had a casualty with coach Ange Postecoglou calling it quits, saying the job had 'taken a toll'. In came Dutchman Bert van Marwijk, who was the man who guided Saudi Arabia to qualification for the FIFA World Cup, but will be leading the Socceroos out in Russia.
Unsure combination
Van Marwijk, who guided his home country to the final of the 2010 World Cup held in South Africa started on a difficult note, unsure about the combination. With Football Federation of Australia insisting on strict austerity measures, Van Marwijk has been forced to spend out of his pockets to pay the staff he brought along.
"He made a good impression. I think I need him."
— Caltex Socceroos (@Socceroos) June 3, 2018
Bert van Marwijk has explained how much Jamie Maclaren impressed him to earn a spot in the 23https://t.co/d6WUDHjzPs
On the field, the Socceroos have their task cut out as Van Marwijk will try to build a compact team that is hard to break down, a far cry from the all-out attack of his predecessor Postecoglou.
It's official!
— Caltex Socceroos (@Socceroos) June 4, 2018
Here are the squad numbers for our 23 players picked for the @FIFAWorldCuphttps://t.co/9F5DqsGqaZ pic.twitter.com/cb7Qc7mBGY
Weak defence
Defence remains the weakest link of Australia's game and against three quality teams in France, Denmark and Peru they will have to be at the top of their game. But the responsibility falls to more than just the four defenders and in that respect Mile Jedinak will be one of the most important players for van Marwijk.
Veteran Cahill, whose selection ahead of in-form striker Jamie Maclaren raised a lot of eyebrows, will have to bring all his experience to the table to give the Socceroos any chance of progressing to the round of 16.
💚💛⚽️🇦🇺 38 is just a number #FEARLESS pic.twitter.com/5J8PNcUOYs
— TIM CAHILL (@Tim_Cahill) June 4, 2018
A little bit of history also awaits the Millwall FC star, who has a chance to become just the fourth player after Pele , Miroslav Klose and Uwe Seeler to score in four different World Cups and that might just spur him and the Socceroos on.
Prediction: Drawn in a tough group featuring pre-tournament favourites France, Peru and Denmark, it is very difficult to see the Socceroos advancing to the knockout stage something which they have not been able to do since 2006. Unless they do something extra-ordinary, there is every chance that they could fly back to Australia without a single win in Russia.